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M12 Combat Shotgun
The M12 Combat Shotgun was developed by Winchester Arms Company for the United States Army in 2052 as a partial replacement from the Heckler & Koch-Winchester M8 Combat Assault Weapons System (CAWS) adopted in the 1980s. The weapon was designed as a selective-fire 12-gauge combat shotgun capable accepting large capacity drum magazine similar to the CAWS, while not making use of "strategic materials", in this case referring to plastic, the synthesis of which was complicated by the dwindling oil supplies during the Resource Wars. Design Details The M12 combat shotgun was manufactured using a combination of steel, aluminum, and wood in order to conserve petroleum needed for plastics production, which was required for more advanced military hardware such as the T-45 power armor. Aluminum was used in place of steel wherever possible to conserve weight. Most M12s have a wooden stock and foregrip, though some some are equipped with a lightweight aluminum recoil control stock and pistol grip (M12A1 variant). The shotgun is capable of semi or fully automatic fire using a gas-operated action, with the gas tube located below the barrel. Fire modes are selected using a three-position selector switch above the trigger, capable of being switched between safe, semi-auto, and full auto. In full auto, the weapon has a rate of fire of 300 rounds per minute, but was often used in semi-automatic mode as the recoil of full auto fire made the weapon difficult to control in extended bursts. Operational History Pre-War The first action the M12 saw was in the hands of British Army personnel in the Middle Eastern Wars, where the first M12s arrived in time to see use by in the Battle of Al-Jafr in Saudi Arabia. After the European Commonwealth fell into a series of regional conflicts, the M12 was used by the military forces of Britain, France the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium in the European Wars. The weapon also saw action in the colonial conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, such as the Nigerian and Congolese insurrections in the 2060s and 2070s, and M12s were used by the Japan Self-Defense Fores in the Third Sino-Japanese War. The US military used the M12 extensively in the Sino-American War in close-quarters urban combat during the Battle of Anchorage, Gobi Campaign, and Yangtze Campaign. Post-War During the pre-war years, the M12's reputation for reliability and lethality, being popular among various postwar factions of its large capacity magazine and common ammunition type. M12s saw use by raiders, mercenaries, and post-war factions across North America, and to a lesser extent in Europe, Japan, and China. When post-war nation states such as the New California Republic began to emerge, many adopted to the M12 into their arsenals. Operators Pre-war *United States of America *United Kingdom *Canada *Japan *Mexico *Ireland *Australia *Belgium *Luxembourg *Switzerland *Finland *Sweden *Greece *Phillipines *South American Federation *Argentina *Brazil *Chile *Bolivia *South Africa Post-war *Various raiders, wastelanders, and militias *New California Republic *Cascadia *Republic of Wales (limited) *Japanese State (postwar) *Communist Party of Japan (limited) *Ryukyu Republic *New Republic of Ireland (limited) Category:Weapons